Look Both Ways, Except for Straight

So because of my extreme girl crush on Jennifer Baumgardner, I ordered her book Look Both Ways: Bisexual Politics even though it's not all that relevant to my interests. Only, after getting through the first couple chapters, it actually kind of is.

Although not a blatant heterosexual, I am attracted to men--a very specific kind which I don't too often come upon, hence the familial assumption of gayness (I covered this in an earlier blog). Although Baumgardner is clearly writing her book for very specific reasons and to a very specific audience (re: bisexual), I feel like any open-minded person can relate in some way to this book. I haven't exactly finished it yet, as I am all too often prone to staring out the window and spacing the fuck out, but I've come to notice some very specific behaviors I display around the physical book itself: I flip it to the back cover. To be fair, I'm the token flaming liberal within the pocket of conservatism that is Allegheny Security, and as I do not enjoy my Fox News-watching employers making jabs at the unfairness of Miss California's firing (rly?!) or Obama-smashing, I can only imagine my irritation at the discussion that would surround the scandalous topic of bisexuality. (Sorry my sentences are so long-winded.) I do not wish to be teased, however playfully (though I'd challenge the notion of playfulness as it is a means to ridicule under the guise of humor) about my sexual preference, which is really no one's business in the first place. So, I turn the book over. If I am quizzed about it, I can always reply honestly--I'm not a bisexual, but I'm interested in the topic and things that relate to gender, sexuality and politics are always relevant to my interests.

This frees me in a way that real-life bisexuals are not. I'm not suggesting that they're not sexually free in and of themselves, but within the context of society (and patriarchy!), there are limitations set on sexual expressivity (may or may not be a word). I'd argue that for anyone not a WASPy male, there are societal limitations on sexual expressivity, but Baumgardner has made me realize that even non-WASPs pose limitations on bisexual expression, including my beloved Elizabeth Wurtzel, who stated something along the lines of "you've gotta choose sometime."

Ah huh.

Currently, I've got Look Both Ways face up. Though it's kind of a lame gesture to make up for all my heteronormative heterosexism (that was probably redundant), I feel like I am, in some small way, making a political statement. I think it is perfectly fine to be bisexual. You fuck whomever you want to fuck, regardless of what's between their legs.

I guess what I'm trying to convey here is that if you try and step outside your own sexuality (be it straight, gay, lesbian, queer, bi- or omni-sexual), you can learn about your own conscious or unconscious prejudices that result from years and years of heteronormative socialization. And you may develop crushes on brilliant authors who you'd probably not want to sleep with.